© Lonely Planet Publications 250 lonelyplanet.com CENTRAL THURINGIA •• Erfurt 251 THURINGIA THURINGIA 0 50 km THURINGIA 0 30 miles To Hanover Herzberg To Berlin (100km) Bad Harzgerode A14 Thuringia Lauterberg (140km) B27 Ilfeld THURINGIA THURINGIA SAXONY-ANHALT LOWER Göttingen B243 SAXONY Nordhausen A143 A7 Halle Leinefelde B80 A38 Kyffhäuser Sondershausen Mts Bad A38 Leipzig Heiligenstadt Frankenhausen A9 Few German regions can match the rolling green hills and bucolic forest trails found in Thur- B247 Gera A14 ingia (Thüringen), once part of the GDR. This picturesque state is quite aptly called the ‘green B249 B4 B86 Freyburg SAXONY Mühlhausen River B85 heart’ of Germany, but Thuringia’s moniker does not account for its fascinating and exciting Sömmerda Werra Bad Naumburg River cities – places like the capital, Erfurt; Weimar, a cultural icon in itself; and Eisenach, remarkable HESSE B7 Langensalza Hainich Zeitz NationalὈB84 Buchenwald for being both a centre of historic German Lutheranism, and of car manufacturing. Beyond Park Apolda Dornburg Altenburg Eisenach these cities are hundreds of smaller towns that invite exploration. Gotha Erfurt B7 Weimar B7 To Dresden A4 Jena A4 Tabarz Waltershausen Gera (80km) Grosser Inselsberg But Thuringia has also felt the cold double-edge of German history. In 1930 it became the Friedrichroda ver A4 Meerane (916m) Arnstadt i R B85 B88 To FrankfurtᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲTambach- Brotterode first German state to be governed by the Nazis, and it quickly stocked its police and other am Main Bad B4 Ilm Salzungen Dietharz (130km) Schmalkalden River Wernshausen Oberhof A71 Rudolstadt B281 Zwickau public services with obedient followers of the NDSAP. The former Buchenwald concentration Saale ὈThuringian Forest Ilmenau Pössneck camp is a grim reminder of the period, standing in bleak contrast to the cultural legacy left Zella-Mehlis B249 Saalfeld A9 B19 Suhl Neustadt by Goethe and Schiller 150 years earlier, and the radical Bauhaus movement which was born ᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲGrosser Meiningen Fulda Beerberg in the city in 1919. (982m) Neuhaus Ernstthal B90 Plauen BAVARIA B89 B281 Rennsteig Today Thuringia is one of the most popular tourist destinations for hiking and cultural Hildburghausen Hiking Trail Blankenstein A71 tourism; it also offers many opportunities to combine both. Although its roads and trails are ᝲᝲᝲᝲᝲSonneberg B85 Bad Neustadt B4 well-trodden, and its cities were long ago sketched on the world cultural map, Thuringia BAVARIA Coburg Kronach A7 To Bamberg (40km); brings many unexpected rewards for visitors who put aside the map for a moment and Munich (265km) A73 immerse themselves in the gentle momentum of slow travel. Getting There & Away A weekly pass for the ‘Verbundsgebiet’ is Thuringia’s main cities, Erfurt and Weimar, also available for all transport covering city HIGHLIGHTS are serviced by daily trains from Berlin, zones and the regions between Erfurt, Weimar Frankfurt, Dresden and Hanover; contact and Jena (€50). Culture Experience the finest of both classic Deutsche Bahn (%118 61 for reservations, %0800-150 and cutting-edge culture in Weimar ( p258 ) 7090 for automated timetable information; www.bahn.de) Escapism Tour Wartburg Castle, Martin for full details. CENTRAL THURINGIA Luther’s hideout in Eisenach ( p270 ) If you’re driving, the area’s main arteries are the east–west A4, which runs just south ERFURT Bizarre Beds Sleep in a former police lock- of Erfurt and Weimar (linking Frankfurt and %0361 / pop 199,000 up, or a 13th-century monastery, in Erfurt Bad Frankenhausen Dresden), and the north–south B4, which The capital of Thuringia is a charming and ( p256 ) skirts Erfurt before heading into the heart lively town that lies just 45km south of the Views Take in the Kyffhäuser Monument and of the Thuringian Forest on its way south to geographical centre of reunified Germany. Eisenach Panorama Museum in Bad Frankenhausen Weimar Munich. The Berlin–Munich A9 cuts through Although WWII bombing took its toll on Erfurt ( p269 ) Gotha the eastern part of Thuringia. this university town, its numerous architec- Hiking & Cycling Tackle a leg or two of the tural gems include a spectacular cathedral Rennsteig ( p273 ), Germany’s oldest and Getting Around and monastery, some lovely winding streets most famous trail, by foot or on your bike Trains are supplemented by comprehensive in the restored Altstadt (Old Town) and one from Eisenach local bus networks and an efficient road sys- of Europe’s most interesting bridges. tem. There are two good-value DB discount Erfurt was founded by St Boniface as a Slow Travel Roll across meadows and tickets available in Thuringia. The Thüringen- bishopric in 742, and was catapulted to promi- through forest on a country tram ( p268 ) Ticket (€26) gives up to five people (or a family) nence and prosperity in the Middle Ages when from Gotha to beautiful Friedrichroda and unlimited travel on regional trains for a day; the it began producing a precious blue pigment beyond Hopper-Ticket (€4.50) is valid for a day return from the woad plant. However, due to a fire to any town within 50km of your starting point, that raged through the city in 1472, none of its POPULATION: 2.58 MILLION AREA: including places in Saxony-Anhalt. surviving buildings date from before the 15th 252 CENTRAL THURINGIA •• Erfurt lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com CENTRAL THURINGIA •• Erfurt 253 THURINGIA THURINGIA 0 500 m INFORMATION Krämerbrücke...........................25 C2 Don Camillo..............................46 B1 ERFURT 0 0.3 miles Emergency Clinic.........................1 B4 Kunsthalle Erfurt.....................(see 21) Erfurter Brauhaus......................47 C3 L1051 Erfurt Tourismus.........................2 C2 Michaeliskirche.........................26 B2 Haus Zur Pfauen........................48 B1 To Park & To Pension Reuss (1.3km) St Ride (6km) au St Erfurt Tourismus (Petersberg)......3 A2 Museum für Thüringer Henner.....................................49 C3 ff au en f r b fe FAM...........................................4 C2 Volkskunde...........................27 D1 Il Mulino...................................50 B3 st K u n THURINGIA THURINGIA r rg b ke äm a u c p ll rg Hugendubel................................5 C3 Peterskirche..............................28 A2 Lutherkeller.............................(see 43) n f ee a enstr ra er l Wald F uf le er e Internettreff................................6 B2 Predigerkirche...........................29 B3 Si Ju..........................................51 C2 To Hotel trKi Reisebank...................................7 D3 Rathaus....................................30 C2 Vamos......................................52 B2 rs r r FlutgrabenGrenzenlos e chgasse st 27 in t J (200m) st d u Spielothek Oase..........................8 B3 Reglerkirche..............................31 D3 Zum Goldenen Schwan.............53 C2 Gera River u r r g a u i- Andreasviertel A h G 38 t Severikirche..............................32 A3 Zwiesel......................................54 B1 t a o g 46 a SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES Stadthalterpalais.......................33 C3 e G r 48 gass i 12 ur n M C th Pflöckn- - Anger 1 Shopping Centre........... 9 D2 Stadtmuseum.........................(see 23) DRINKING i o m gasse R c 54 in se h J as ae o g Angerbrunnen..........................10 C3 Thüringer Produkte Museum....34 B3 Centrum................................... 55 D2 G l h is a S er st 23 c h r n h Angermuseum.......................... C3 Wigbertikirche.......................... C3 Dubliner.................................... B3 ac n 11 35 56 rb Mohnen- m Ma 16 e s gasse i s d Augustinerkloster......................12 B1 Zitadelle Petersberg..................36 A2 Hemingway..............................57 C2 e t t s r r s 57 43 t s a 42 s t rg 26 tr er e Barfüsserkiche...........................13 C3 Presseklub.................................58 B4 e rs f d A nt tte p e r Fu t n t Benedikts- äm e Bartholomäusturm....................14 C3 SLEEPING Studentenzentrum d m r ns 60 Wenige- r r a 25 K e g e 53 platz 39 U 28 a r g i markt f s e il Begegnungsstätte Kleine Augustinerkloster...................(see 12) Engelsburg...........................(see 24) s P e 4 e t h 19 2 Rathaus- Meien r r r 20 bergstr e 24 Synagoge.............................15 C2 Grand Hotel an Dom................37 A3 l 51 brücke K 36 Al Fisch- aufmä Metten- P n nerstr Collegium Majus.......................16 B2 Hotel & Gasthof Nikolai.............38 B1 ENTERTAINMENT 3 markt i rktstr 15 ls gasse Ma 30 e 9 Meyfartstr G 21 Dom St Marien.........................17 A3 Hotel am Kaisersaal...................39 C2 DasDie......................................59 B3 r 52 o s 6 r Anger Galerie Haus Dacheröden.........18 C3 Hotel Ibis..................................40 C3 Die Arche Cabaret..................(see 62) s t e s T Klein r ro Domplatz e e A m r Galerie Waidspeicher..............(see 60) Hotel Zumnorde.......................41 C3 Jazzkeller................................(see 19) o ig m t r n 62 A S r s e c 22 d chlösserst 55 d u h La rc re or Gildehaus..................................19 B2 Sorat Hotel...............................42 C2 Kulturhof Krönbacken...............60 B2 e he P fs tr S 29 t Haus Zum Breiten Herd.............20 B2 Theater Erfurt........................... 61 A3 32 u M n e 5 z i e s B Haus Zum Roten Ochsen..........21 B2 EATING Theater Waidspeicher...............62 B2 45 t n e 13 a A g r W h 34 - G n a E 11 n Haus Zum Sonneborn................22 B2 Alboth's Restaurant..................43